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Title  of  chapter: 

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THE 

U 


LUCKY  LITTLE  ENTERPRISE: 


AND 


HER    SUCCESSORS 


IN  THE 


UNITED     STATES     NAVY. 


J776-J900. 


BY   F.   STANHOPE    HILL, 

AUTHOR  OF  "TWENTY  YEARS  AT  SEA,"  "HISTORICAL  CONTINUITY  OF 
THE  ANGLICAN  CHURCH,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


BOSTON,  MASSACHUSETTS: 
1900. 


COPYRIGHTED, 

1900, 
BY  F.  STANHOPE  HILL- 


TO  THE   CADETS 


OF   THE 


MASSACHUSETTS    NAUTICAL    TRAINING 
SCHOOL 


THE  early  predecessor  in  the  navy  of  the  United  States  of 
the  vessel  that  is  now  used  as  the  training  ship  of  the 
Massachusetts  Nautical  Training  School  was  the  armed  schooner 
Enterprise.  From  her  remarkably  successful  career  in  the  brief 
naval  war  with  France,  1799-1800;  in  the  brilliant  naval  opera- 
tions against  the  Barbary  Powers,  1801-1805  ;  and  in  the  war 
with  England  in  1812-1814,  sne  became  familiarly  known  in  the 
service  as  "the  Lucky  Little  Enterprise" 

Among  the  young  men  who  began  their  naval  career  in  the 
little  Enterprise  nearly  a  century  ago  were  Hull,  Bainbridge, 
Decatur,  Porter,  Lawrence,  Macdonough,  Somers,  Burrows,  and 
others  who  either  lived  to  write  their  names  high  up  on  the  scroll 
of  fame  or,  like  Lawrence,  Somers,  and  Burrows,  gave  up  their 
lives  in  the  service  of  their  country. 

If  the  cadets  of  the  Enterprise,  who  under  careful  instruction 
are  now  learning  the  seaman's  art,  should  find  in  this  brief 
chronicle  of  heroic  deeds  an  incentive  to  aim  for  the  same  high 
standard  of  honor,  devotion  to  duty  and  sturdy  patriotism  that 
characterised  the  young  sailors  of  whom  I  write,  my  labor  will  be 
more  than  repaid. 

For  the  historical  data  in  this  paper  I  have  drawn  upon  the 
Library  and  Naval  War  Records  of  the  Navy  Department, 
Emmons's  United  States  Navy,  Cooper's  Naval  History,  Roose- 
velt's War  of  1812,  Captain  A.  S.  Barker's  Deep  Sea  Soundings, 
and  various  contemporary  sources. 

F.  STANHOPE  HILL, 
Secretary  Massachusetts  Nautical  Training  School. 

BOSTON,  January  i,  1900. 


THE  STORY 


OF   THE 


LUCKY  LITTLE  ENTERPRISE/ 


"  I  have  done  the  State  some  service." 


IT  is  very  doubtful  if  the  naval  history  of  any  nation  can  show  a 
more  brilliant  record,  for  a  vessel  of  her  size,  than  was  gained 
during  the  first  fifteen  years  of  the  present  century  by  the  little 
twelve-gun  schooner  Enterprise,  afterward  rigged  as  a  brig,  and  the 
predecessor  on  the  navy  list  of  the  United  States  of  the  present 
steam  sloop-of-war  Enterprise,  now  used  as  the  school-ship  of  the 
Massachusetts  Nautical  Training  School. 

It  is  also  noteworthy  that  during  her  long  and  eventful 
career,  the  Enterprise  never  met  with  a  reverse,  nor  a  serious 
mishap,  never  failed  to  capture  any  antagonist  with  whom  she 
joined  issue  in  battle,  and  when  forced  to  escape  from  absolutely 
overpowering  odds,  as  in  1813—14,  she  was  always  able  to  distance 
her  pursuers  —  in  one  case,  only  after  a  chase  of  seventy  hours. 

During  her  very  active  service  in  the  West  Indies,  in  the  war 
of  1798-99,  between  the  United  States  and  France,  as  well  as 
later  in  the  Mediterranean,  where  she  took  part  in  our  conflict 
with  the  Beys  of  Tunis  and  Tripoli,  the  Enterprise  invariably  gave 
a  good  account  of  herself,  as  might  have  been  expected  when 
we  note  the  men,  afterward  famous  in  our  naval  history,  who  as 
lieutenants  commanded  her. 

Among  these  were  sturdy  Isaac  Hull,  ten  years  later  the 
gallant  commander  of  the  Constitution,  and  Stephen  Decatur, 


6  THE  "LUCKY  LITTLE  ENTERPRISE." 

•whose  heroic  exploit  in  the  destruction  of  the  Philadelphia  in  th-j 
Bay  of  Tripoli  was  but  the  prelude  to  a  long  and  brilliant  career, 
that  culminated  in  1815  in  the  absolute  humiliation  of  the  Barbary 
Powers  by  the  squadron  under  his  command.  Other  captains  of 
the  little  Enterprise  were  Charles  Stewart,  afterward  when  in  com 
mand  of  the  Constitution,  the  captor  of  the  Cyane  and  Levant;  and 
James  Renshaw,  who  for  nineteen  months  was  a  captive  at 
Tripoli.  David  Porter  of  Essex  fame,  father  of  the  late  Admiral 
of  our  Navy,  served  as  a  junior  lieutenant  in  the  Enterprise  in  the 
operations  against  Tripoli,  and  among  her  officers  at  that  time 
were  midshipmen  James  Lawrence,  "  the  Bayard  of  the  Sea,"  who 
gave  up  his  life  on  the  deck  of  the  ill-fated  Chesapeake;  Joseph 
Bainbridge  and  Thomas  Macdonough,  who  gained  the  glorious 
victory  over  the  British  fleet  on  Lake  Champlain. 

It  makes  one  fairly  dizzy  to  recall  the  names  of  the  young 
officers  attached  to  that  little  schooner  during  the  years  1800- 
1805,  who  were  to  become  world  heroes  within  a  scant  decade. 
The  Enterprise,  then  as  now,  was  really  a  school-ship,  and  the 
young  officers  on  board  of  her  were  there  acquiring  the  practical 
training  and  imbibing  the  professional  spirit  that  made  them  self- 
reliant,  patient,  fearless  and  patriotic.  And  her  graduates,  as 
they  passed  on  to  a  broader  field  of  duty  in  their  country's  service, 
did  not  fail  to  profit  by  their  early  training. 

The  first  vessel  in  the  United  States  service  bearing  the 
name  of  Enterprise  was  a  sloop,  armed  with  twelve  four-pounder 
guns,  and  carrying  fifty  men.  Commanded  by  Captain  Dicken- 
son,  she  was  one  of  a  fleet  of  seventeen  vessels  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain  in  1776,  the  whole  under  the  command  of  Brigadier-General 
Benedict  Arnold  in  the  operations  against  Crown  Point.  They 
were  officered  and  manned  principally  by  soldiers  and  landsmen. 
This  fleet  fought  a  drawn  battle  with  the  British  fleet  off  the 
Island  of  Valcour,  October  n,  1776,  which  lasted  five  hours,  in 
which  some  of  the  vessels  were  disabled  and  sunk.  Two  days 
later,  in  a  running  fight  to  the  southward,  one  of  the  vessels  was 


THE    "  LUCKY    LITTLE    ENTERPRISE.  7 

captured,  after  great  loss.  Soon  after,  the  remainder  of  the  Ameri- 
can fleet  was  run  on  shore  in  a  small  creek,  about  ten  miles  from 
•Crown  Point,  and  destroyed  by  their  own  officers  to  prevent  their 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Enterprise,  which,  with  the  good  fortune  that  seemed  her  birth- 
right, escaped  both  capture  and  destruction.  But  the  resistance 
•of  the  Americans  had  been  so  stubborn  that  it  discouraged  the 
British  commander,  General  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  who  retired  to 
Montreal  for  the  winter.  Arnold  received  great  credit  for  his 
heroic  conduct  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  the  fight  off  Valcour, 
which  was  the  first  naval  battle  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States,  was  called  "  the  naval  Bunker  Hill." 

In  the  summer  of  the  year  1798,  the  continued  aggressions 
of  French  cruisers  upon  our  mercantile  marine  had  caused  the 
somewhat  tardy  abrogation  by  Congress  of  all  existing  treaties 
with  France,  and  American  cruisers  were  ordered  to  capture 
any  French  vessels  that  might  be  found  near  the  coast  preying 
upon  our  commerce.  The  scope  of  this  order  was  very  shortly 
extended  by  authorizing  the  capture  of  such  vessels  wherever 
found,  and  Letters-of-Marque  and  Reprisal  were  issued  to  private 
armed  ships. 

Early  in  1799  our  government  built  and  equipped  at  Balti- 
more, Md.,  two  schooners  of  about  one  hundred  and  sixty-five 
tons,  the  Enterprise  and  the  Experiment.  They  each  cost  $16,240  ; 
their  armament  was  twelve  six-pounders,  and  their  complement 
was  about  seventy  men.  These  light,  fast,  handy  little  vessels, 
built  on  the  fine  modelled  lines  that  had  already  made  the 
Baltimore  clippers  famous  for  speed  and  seaworthiness,  were 
especially  intended  to  deal  with  the  small  fore-and-aft-rigged 
French  privateers  which  fairly  swarmed  in  the  West  Indies, 
readily  avoiding  capture  by  our  heavy,  square-rigged  cruisers. 
The  wisdom  of  this  policy  was  speedily  proved  by  the  remarka- 
ble success  of  the  new  schooners  against  the  enemy. 

On  April  i,  1800,  the  Enterprise,  commanded  by  Lieutenant 


8  THE  "LUCKY  LITTLE  ENTERPRISE." 

John  Shaw,  had  a  smart  brush  with  a  brig,  showing  Spanish 
colors,  near  the  Mona  Passage.  The  stranger  had  eighteen  guns 
of  heavier  calibre  than  the  American,  and  the  action  lasted  for 
twenty  minutes,  the  brig  continuing  to  fly  the  Spanish  flag.  At 
last  both  vessels  withdrew,  each  convinced  that  a  mistake  in 
nationality  had  been  made. 

Lieutenant  Shaw,  finding  it  necessary  after  this  contest  to 
make  some  repairs,  went  into  St.  Thomas.  While  there  he  was 
challenged  to  fight  a  French  lugger  of  twelve  guns  outside  the 
harbor,  but  the  Frenchman  failing  to  keep  the  appointment,  Shaw 
sailed  for  St.  Kitts,  capturing  a  small  privateer  on  the  way,  and 
a  few  days  later  he  captured  the  Letter-of-Marque  Seine.  This 
was  quite  a  desperate  fight,  the  Frenchman  having  twenty-four 
killed  and  wounded,  while  the  Enterprise  had  several  wounded 
but  none  killed.  Two  weeks  later  the  Enterprise  captured  the 
six-gun  privateer  Citoyenne  and  sent  her  into  St.  Kitts.  The 
French  loss  in  this  engagement  was  fourteen  killed  and  wounded, 
while  the  Americans  had  but  eight  wounded. 

Returning  to  St.  Kitts,  the  Enterprise  refitted,  and  upon 
going  to  sea  fell  in  with  the  same  lugger  that  had  challenged  her 
a  month  before  at  St.  Thomas,  and  actually  captured  her  without 
firing  a  shot,  very  much  to  the  surprise  of  Lieutenant  Shaw,  who 
had  anticipated  a  severe  fight.  Shortly  after  this,  while  near 
Guadaloupe,  the  French  privateer  brig  L1  Agile  was  encountered 
and,  after  a  brief  contest,  was  carried  by  boarding,  the  French 
losing  twelve  killed  and  wounded,  while  the  Enterprise  had  only 
three  wounded. 

In  July  the  Enterprise,  while  becalmed,  was  approached  one 
night  by  a  French  privateer  brig.  Evidently  thinking  the  Ameri- 
can was  a  merchant  vessel,  the  brig  had  her  sweeps  out  and  was 
coming  down  upon  her  expected  prey.  A  breeze  sprang  up, 
however,  and  the  Enterprise,  getting  the  wind  first,  trimmed  and 
made  all  sail  and  started  in  chase  of  her  adversary.  The  French- 
man, finding  that  he  had  caught  a  Tartar,  attempted  to  make  off! 


THE    "LUCKY    LITTLE    ENTERPRISE.  9< 

before  the  wind  under  studding  sails.  But  the  Yankee  schooner 
had  the  heels  of  the  privateer,  and  keeping  in  her  wake,  and 
within  musket  shot,  Lieutenant  Shaw  made  it  very  unpleasant  for 
the  Frenchman  by  a  well-directed  fire  of  small  arms.  At  last  the 
Enterprise  drew  abeam  of  the  brig,  and  the  two  vessels  then 
engaged  at  close  quarters.  During  the  fight  the  Frenchman's 
foretopmast  was  carried  away,  taking  with  the  wreck  several  men 
who  were  aloft  endeavoring  to  secure  the  spar,  and  although  the 
brig  made  no  effort  to  save  her  drowning  men,  the  Enterprise 
lowered  a  boat  and  picked  them  up.  Then,  running  alongside 
the  French  vessel,  and  pouring  in  a  rapid  fire,  Shaw  soon  forced 
her  to  surrender.  The  prize  proved  to  be  the  Flambeau,  mounting 
twelve  nine-pounders,  with  a  crew  of  one  hundred  and  ten,  while 
the  Enterprise  only  had  twelve  six-pounders  and  eighty-three  men. 
The  French  loss  was  forty  killed  and  wounded,  while  the  Ameri- 
cans, with  their  usual  good  fortune,  only  lost  ten  men. 

A  month  later  the  Enterprise  chased  for  five  hours,  and  finally 
captured,  the  French  privateer  Pauline  of  six  guns  and  forty  men,, 
and  in  September  she  took  the  Letter-of-Marque  Guadaloupenne 
of  seven  guns  and  forty-five  men.  This  made  a  grand  total  for 
six  months  for  the  Enterprise  of  eight  privateers,  with  an  aggre- 
gate of  forty-seven  guns  and  three  hundred  and  eighty-four  men, 
captured  and  four  American  merchantmen  recaptured. 

Returning  to  the  United  States,  the  brilliant  services  of 
Lieutenant  Shaw  were  at  once  recognized  by  placing  him  in  com- 
mand of  the  captured  French  corvette  Le  Berceau  of  twenty-six 
guns,  while  Lieutenant  Charles  Stewart  was  ordered  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  Enterprise. 

In  May,  1801,  the  Enterprise,  then  commanded  by  Lieutenant 
Andrew  Sterett,  sailed  for  the  Mediterranean  in  the  American 
squadron  under  the  command  of  Captain  Richard  Dale,  who  was 
ordered  to  make  a  demonstration  in  force  against  the  Bashaw  of 
Tripoli  and  the  Bey  of  Tunis,  in  view  of  the  probability  of  a 
declaration  of  war  by  Tripoli,  which,  as  it  proved,  had  actually  at: 


10  THE    "LUCKY    LITTLE    ENTERPRISE. 

that  time  been  made,  although  the  news  of  it  had  not  been 
received  at  Washington.  The  immediate  cause  of  this  war  was 
the  dissatisfaction  of  the  Bashaw  of  Tripoli  and  the  Bey  of  Tunis 
with  the  amount  of  tribute  they  were  receiving  from  the  United 
States,  which  they  considered  insufficient  as  an  immunity  for 
refraining  from  the  capture  of  American  vessels. 

In  common  with  the  principal  European  states,  our  young 
nation  had  long  submitted  to  this  incredible  humiliation,  and  in 
January,  1798,  we  actually  sent  as  a  present  to  the  Dey  of  Algiers 
the  frigate  Crescent,  loaded  with  valuable  gifts,  including  twenty- 
six  barrels  of  dollars,  "as  a  compensation  for  delay  in  not  fulfilling 
our  treaty  stipulations  in  time."  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the 
captain  and  several  of  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  Crescent  had  at 
different  times  been  prisoners  at  Algiers,  while  Richard  O'Brien, 
who  took  passage  in  the  frigate  to  become  Consul-General  to  all 
the  Barbary  States,  had  been  held  as  a  prisoner  at  Algiers  for  ten 
years.  The  total  value  of  the  Crescent  with  the  gifts  she  carried 
was  estimated  at  $300,000,  and  this  naturally  excited  the  cupidity 
of  the  Bey  of  Tunis,  who  complained  that  he  had  only  received 
$40,000  from  the  United  States  during  the  past  year. 

England,  with  her  strong  commercial  instinct,  then,  as  now, 
stood  between  the  Turk  and  the  civilized  world  as  his  quasi-pro- 
tector,  in  the  effort  to  secure  for  Great  Britain  the  monopoly  of 
the  Mediterranean  commerce,  and  Lord  Sheffield  did  not  hesitate 
to  declare  in  Parliament :  "That  the  Barbary  States  are  advan- 
tageous to  maritime  powers  (Great  Britain)  is  certain.  If  they 
are  suppressed,  the  little  states  of  Italy  would  have  much  more  of 
the  carrying  trade."  These  words  slightly  paraphrased  might 
well  have  been  used  by  Lord  Salisbury  in  Parliament  three  years 
ago. 

In  May,  1800,  the  United  States  frigate  George  Washington, 
Captain  William  Bainbridge,  sailed  from  our  shores  carrying  the 
annual  payment  to  the  Dey  of  Algiers.  This  was  the  last  tribute 
this  nation  was  ever  to  pay  to  a  foreign  power,  civilized  or 


THE    "LUCKY    LITTLE    ENTERPRISE."  It 

uncivilized,  for  soon  after  the  stirring  words  rang  out  in  the  halls 
of  Congress  :  "  Millions  for  defence.  Not  one  cent  for  tribute  !  " 

Arriving  at  Algiers,  Captain  Bainbridge,  very  much  against 
his  will,  was  induced  at  the  solicitation  of  Consul-General  O'Brien 
to  carry  the  Dey's  personal  present  of  money  and  slaves  to  the 
Sultan  at  Constantinople.  The  Dey  did  not  hesitate  to  say,  when 
Bainbridge  at  first  declined  this  service,  "  Your  nation  pays  me 
tribute,  by  which  you  become  my  slaves ;  I  have  therefore  the 
right  and  the  power  to  order  you  as  I  may  think  proper."  That 
Bainbridge  was  a  gallant  officer  he  conclusively  proved  in  the 
coming  years,  but  it  is  difficult  in  these  days  to  comprehend  how 
he  could  have  brought  himself  to  the  point  of  complying  with  this 
arrogant  demand.  Within  three  years  it  was  his  fate  to  become 
a  prisoner,  and  for  nineteen  months  Bainbridge  languished  in  the 
dungeons  of  the  Bashaw  of  Tripoli.  He  could  not  well  have 
fared  worse  had  he  defied  the  Dey  of  Algiers  from  the  deck  of 
his  staunch  frigate  George  Washington. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  American  squadron  at  Gibraltar,  the 
frigate  President  and  the  Enterprise  were  sent  to  Algiers,  and  sub- 
sequently the  Enterprise  was  ordered  to  Malta.  While  cruising 
off  that  Island  on  August  i,  1801,  she  fell  in  with  the  Tripolitan 
war  polacre  Tripoli  of  fourteen  guns  and  eighty-five  men,  and  an 
action  was  at  once  begun  which  lasted  three  hours.  During  this 
desperate  fight,  the  Tripolitan  three  times  surrendered,  but  when 
the  Enterprise  sent  a  boat  to  take  possession  the  enemy  twice 
reopened  fire  and  rehoisted  their  colors.  Exasperated  by  this 
treachery,  Lieutenant  Sterett  determined  to  sink  the  polacre,  and 
opened  fire,  but  the  Tripolitan  commander  at  last  threw  his  flag 
into  the  sea,  begging  for  quarter.  Lieutenant  David  Porter  was 
again  sent  to  secure  the  prize,  which  this  time  he  accomplished. 
The  Tripolitan  loss  was  fifty  killed  and  wounded,  while,  strange 
as  it  may  seem,  the  Americans  had  no  loss  whatever.  Sterett 
dismantled  the  polacre,  throwing  all  her  guns  overboard,  and 
ordered  her  to  make  for  the  nearest  port.  For  this  gallant  affair 


12  THE  "LUCKY  LITTLE  ENTERPRISE." 

Lieutenant  Sterett  was  promoted,  and  Congress  voted  him  a 
sword,  while  each  member  of  the  crew  received  a  month's  extra 
pay. 

The  Tripolitan  captain  did  not  fare  as  well,  for  upon  the 
arrival  of  the  polacre  at  Tripoli  the  Bashaw  ordered  her  wounded 
captain  to  be  mounted  on  a  jackass  and  paraded  through  the 
streets,  and  afterward  to  receive  five  hundred  bastinadoes.  So 
terrified  were  the  Tripolitans  at  this  event  that  the  sailors  aban- 
doned the  cruisers  fitting  out,  and  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty 
could  men  be  procured  to  navigate  them. 

Under  orders  from  Washington,  the  President  and  the  Enter- 
prise returned  to  the  United  States  in  December,  to  avoid 
wintering  in  the  Mediterranean.  In  May,  1802,  the  Enterprise 
again  sailed  for  those  waters,  accompanying  a  squadron  com- 
manded by  Commodore  Victor  L.  Morris,  which  included  the 
frigates  Chesapeake,  Constellation  and  New  York,  and  the  corvettes 
Adams  and  John  Adams.  The  frigates  Philadelphia  and  Essex 
had  remained  on  the  station. 

During  this  cruise  the  Enterprise,  while  commanded  by  the 
gallant  Isaac  Hull,  then  a  lieutenant,  actually  cornered  a  Tripoli- 
tan  twenty-two  gun  cruiser  one  night,  driving  her  to  seek  refuge 
in  a  narrow  bay,  and  holding  her  there  until  daylight,  when  the 
frigate /^//  Adams  coming  down  to  the  assistance  of  the  plucky 
little  schooner,  the  two  American  vessels  stood  in  shore,  opened 
fire,  and  soon  afterward  the  cruiser  blew  up  with  all  on  board. 

On  December  23,  1803,  the  Enterprise,  commanded  by  Lieu- 
tenant Stephen  Decatur,  captured  a  Tripolitan  ketch,  the  Mastico, 
bound  for  Constantinople  with  female  slaves  for  the  Sultan's 
harem.  Decatur  had  already  proposed  to  Preble  to  run  into  the 
harbor  of  Tripoli  at  night  with  the  Enterprise  and  destroy  the 
Philadelphia  that  had  been  taken  possession  of  by  the  Tripolitans 
on  November  i,  after  she  had  grounded  near  the  entrance  to  the 
port,  but  the  Commodore  would  not  sanction  the  plan.  He 
decided,  however,  to  send  in  the  Mastico  on  this  venture,  and  the 


THE    "LUCKY   LITTLE   ENTERPRISE."  13 

officers  and  crew  of  the  Enterprise,  having  captured  the  ketch, 
claimed  the  honor  of  taking  her  in  for  this  perilous  expedition. 
Every  man  and  boy  on  board  volunteered  for  the  occasion,  but  as 
the  crews  of  other  ships  also  demanded  recognition,  six  officers 
from  the  Enterprise  and  six  from  the  Constitution  were  selected. 
Sixty-two  men  were  also  chosen  from  the  crews  of  the  two  vessels, 
and  these,  with  an  Italian  pilot,  manned  the  Mastico. 

The  thrilling  story  of  that  brilliant  and  entirely  successful 
enterprise  is  too  familiar  to  need  repetition  at  length.  Entering 
the  harbor  of  Tripoli  on  the  evening  of  February  15,  1804,  the 
Mastico  was  permitted  to  drift  close  alongside  of  the  Philadelphia 
without  exciting  suspicion,  and  then,  led  by  the  gallant  Decatur, 
and  followed  by  his  brave  officers  and  men,  the  frigate  was 
boarded,  the  crew  of  400  Tripolitans  were  driven  in  panic  over- 
board, and  the  ship  was  fired.  The  daring  Americans  then 
escaped  from  the  harbor,  followed  by  the  Tripolitan  gunboats, 
and  passing  through  a  hail  of  shot  and  shell  from  batteries 
mounting  one  hundred  and  fifteen  heavy  guns,  reached  their  ships 
with  but  one  man  wounded. 

The  Philadelphia  burned  furiously,  until  at  last  the  magazines 
ignited  and  a  terrific  explosion  rent  the  ship  into  fragments  and 
her  destruction  was  complete.  Nelson,  who  was  then  blockading 
Toulon,  declared  this  "the  most  bold  and  daring  act  of  the  age," 
and  Congress  manifested  its  high  appreciation  of  Decatur's 
bravery  by  promoting  him  two  grades,  to  Captain,  and  voting 
him  a  sword. 

After  this  successful  raid,  the  Mastico  under  Decatur  was 
taken  into  the  service  and  appropriately  called  the  Intrepid,  but 
her  career  under  our  flag  was  to  be  brief.  A  month  later  Preble 
decided  to  send  her  into  the  harbor  as  a  floating  mine,  for  the 
purpose  of  destroying  the  Tripolitan  gunboats.  In  charge  of 
Master-Commandant  Richard  Somers,  the  Intrepid  was  filled  with 
powder,  explosive  shells  and  combustibles,  and  with  three  officers, 
Somers,  midshipmen  Henry  Wadsworth  (an  uncle  of  the  poet 


14  THE    "LUCKY    LITTLE    ENTERPRISE." 

Longfellow)  and  Joseph  Israel,  with  a  crew  of  ten  men,  she  ran 
in  on  the  night  of  September  4,  1804,  with  a  fine  leading  breeze. 
Unfortunately  she  grounded  on  the  rocks  at  the  entrance  to  the 
harbor,  where  she  was  immediately  attacked  by  three  Tripolitan 
gunboats,  and  in  pursuance  of  his  'avowed  intention  not  to  be 
taken  alive,  it  is  believed  that  Somers  fired  the  magazine  of  his 
vessel,  blowing  her  up  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies. 

Although  this  attempt  to  destroy  the  Tripolitan  gunboats 
failed,  Captain  Preble  vigorously  continued  his  bombardment  of 
the  fortifications,  and  on  August  3,  1804,  sent  in  the  six  gunboats 
with  the  Enterprise,  covered  by  the  fire  of  the  Constitution,  to 
destroy  the  Bashaw's  gunboats  and  galleys  in  the  harbor. 

The  contempt  of  the  Bashaw  for  "  the  Franks  beyond  the 
ocean,"  as  they  called  the  Americans,  was  shown  at  the  time  of 
this  attack — a  contempt,  by  the  way,  that  was  soon  to  be  changed 
to  a  very  wholesome  feeling  of  respect.  Standing  upon  the  terrace 
of  his  palace,  he  watched  the  American  gunboats  coming  in  and 
remarked  to  one  of  his  officers  :  "  They  will  soon  make  their  dis- 
tance for  tacking ;  they  are  a  sort  of  Jews,  who  have  no  notion  of 
fighting."  The  terrace  was  crowded  with  spectators  to  behold  the 
chastisement  the  Bashaw's  gunboats  would  give  the  Americans  if 
they  approached  too  near.  But  soon  the  shells  from  our  flotilla 
began  to  fall  in  the  town,  and  the  inhabitants  fled  to  the  suburbs, 
while  the  Bashaw  retreated  to  his  bomb-proof  room. 

This  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  stubborn  fights  of  the 
war,  a  hand-to-hand  combat  that  in  its  various  exhibitions  of 
desperate  personal  courage  recalls  the  feats  of  the  paladins  of 
old. 

Stephen  Decatur,  who  led  the  second  of  the  two  divisions, 
with  three  gunboats,  kept  to  windward  and  closed  with  one  of 
the  eastern  division  of  nine  Tripolitan  gunboats,  boarding  her 
with  only  fifteen  men.  The  captain  of  this  vessel,  a  large, 
powerful  man,  was  singled  out  by  Decatur,  who  charged  him 
with  a  boarding  pike,  but  the  Turk  seized  the  weapon,  wrested 


THE    "LUCKY    LITTLE    ENTERPRISE."  15 

it  from  his  assailant's  hands,  and  turned  the  pike  against  its 
owner.  Decatur  drew  his  sword,  parried  the  thrust  and  made  a 
blow  at  the  pike,  with  a  view  of  cutting  off  its  head,  but  the  sword 
hit  the  iron  and  broke  at  the  hilt,  leaving  Decatur  helpless.  As 
the  Turk  made  another  thrust  with  the  pike,  the  gallant  American 
partially  averted  it  with  his  arm,  but  received  the  point  in  the 
flesh  of  one  breast.  Pushing  the  iron  from  the  wound,  Decatur 
sprang  within  the  weapon  and  grappled  his  antagonist,  the  pike 
falling  between  them.  The  Turk's  muscular  strength,  however, 
overcame  the  American  and  he  fell  across  the  gunnel  of  the 
boat.  In  this  position  Decatur  managed  to  draw  a  small  pistol 
from  the  pocket  of  his  vest,  passed  the  arm  that  was  free  around 
the  body  of  the  Turk,  pointed  the  muzzle  in  and  fired.  The  ball 
passed  entirely  through  the  body  of  the  Musselman  and  lodged 
in  Decatur's  clothing.  At  the  same  instant  he  felt  the  grasp  of 
his  foe  relax  and  he  was  liberated. 

During  this  melee  a  sergeant  of  marines  interposed  between 
his  commander  and  another  Turk  who  was  about  to  cleave  Lieu- 
tenant Decatur's  skull,  receiving  the  sabre  stroke  on  his  own  arm, 
which  was  nearly  severed  by  the  blow. 

By  this  time  the  other  thirteen  Americans  had  overcome  the 
thirty-one  Tripolitans,  and  hauled  down  the  colors  of  the  gunboat. 

Decatur  left  her  in  charge  of  Lieutenant  McDonough  and 
eight  men,  and  laid  another  Tripolitan  gunboat  on  board,  carry- 
ing her,  also,  after  a  desperate  engagement  of  a  few  minutes. 
These  two  captured  boats  had  thirty-three  men  killed  and  twenty- 
seven  were  made  prisoners,  nineteen  of  them  wounded. 

Lieutenant  Trippe  had  an  equally  exciting  experience.  He 
boarded  another  Tripolitan  boat  with  only  Midshipman  Jonathan 
Henley  and  nine  men,  his  boat  falling  off  before  any  more  could 
join  him.  He  was  thus  left  to  conquer  thirty-six  men  with  only 
eleven.  For  a  time  the  victory  seemed  doubtful.  Trippe  received 
eleven  sabre  wounds,  some  of  them  dangerous.  The  blade  of  his 
sword  bending,  he,  like  Decatur,  also  closed  with  his  antagonist 


1 6  THE  "LUCKY  LITTLE  ENTERPRISE." 

and  both  fell.  In  the  struggle  Trippe  wrested  the  Turk's  sword 
from  him,  and  with  it  stabbed  his  antagonist  to  the  heart. 

After  fourteen  of  the  Tripolitans  had  been  killed,  the  sur- 
viving twenty-two  surrendered  to  the  eleven  Americans,  and 
Trippe  brought  his  captured  gunboat  off  in  triumph. 

Lieutenant  Somers,  not  able  to  fetch  far  enough  to  windward 
to  cooperate  with  Decatur,  fell  upon  the  leeward  division  of  the 
enemy,  and  with  his  single  boat  attacked  five  full-manned  Tripoli- 
tan  boats  within  pistol  shot.  After  a  desperate  fight  he  defeated 
and  drove  them  in  a  shattered  condition  and  with  the  loss  of 
many  men  to  seek  refuge  under  the  cover  of  the  rocks. 

Lieutenant  James  Decatur  (brother  to  Stephen)  engaged  one 
of  the  larger  Tripolitan  gunboats.  After  losing  a  greater  part  of 
her  men  she  surrendered,  but  as  James  Decatur  stepped  on  board 
of  his  prize  the  Turkish  captain  treacherously  shot  him  through 
the  head,  and  she  escaped  while  the  Americans  were  recovering 
the  body  of  their  unfortunate  commander. 

The  result  of  this  fight  was  the  capture  of  three  gunboats, 
and  the  destruction  of  three  others.  The  Americans  also  brought 
off  one  hundred  and  three  prisoners,  beside  leaving  many  killed 
and  wounded,  while  our  loss  was  only  fourteen  killed  and  wounded. 

In  this  connection  a  story  is  told  by  a  contemporaneous 
writer  that  may  or  may  not  be  true.  I  give  it  for  what  it  is 
worth.  He  says  when  Decatur  returned  to  the  Enterprise  from 
this  expedition  he  at  once  took  a  boat  and  boarded  the  Constitution 
to  report  to  Preble,  without  waiting  to  change  his  clothing,  which 
was  torn  and  begrimmed  with  powder  and  blood. 

The  Commodore  was  on  the  quarter-deck  awaiting  Decatur, 
who,  saluting,  said  :  "  Commodore,  I  have  brought  you  out  three 
gunboats ! "  At  this  Preble  seized  Decatur  by  the  lapels  of  his 
coat  and  shaking  him,  responded,  "  Why  didn't  you  bring  them 
all  out,  sir  1 " 

At  this  public  indignity,  Decatur,  who  had  no  sword,  as  it 
had  been  broken  in  his  contest  with  the  Turk,  thrust  his  hand  in 


THE  "LUCKY  LITTLE  ENTERPRISE."  17 

his  breast  for  a  dagger  he  had  carried  through  the  day,  but  it  also 
had  been  lost,  and  thus,  says  the  chronicler,  "  a  grave  scandal 
was  averted." 

Preble  went  down  to  his  cabin,  where  Decatur  was  speedily 
summoned.  A  long  private  conference  ensued,  and  the  incident 
was  allowed  to  pass  without  further  investigation. 

It  is  certain  that  Preble  was  a  man  of  violent  temper,  was 
subject  to  outbreaks  of  anger  well-nigh  uncontrollable,  and  he 
was  under  a  very  high  state  of  nervous  tension  at  the  time,  as  his 
plans  for  the  entire  destruction  of  the  Tripolitan  fleet  had  only 
partially  succeded. 

The  attacks  upon  the  fortifications  at  Tripoli  were  continued 
by  Preble,  but  the  resistance  of  the  enemy  was  very  stubborn, 
and  as  winter  was  coming  on,  the  Enterprise  and  several  of  the 
smaller  vessels  of  the  fleet  were  sent  to  Syracuse,  while  Captain 
Preble  returned  to  the  United  States  in  the  John  Adams,  being 
relieved  in  command  of  the  Station  by  Captain  Samuel  Barren, 
who  came  in  the  frigate  President  in  September,  1804. 

The  results  of  Captain  Preble's  operations  before  Tripoli,  up 
to  this  time,  had  been  highly  satisfactory,  and  very  great  damage 
had  been  inflicted  upon  the  enemy.  The  Pope  made  a  public 
declaration  at  this  time  that  "the  United  States,  though  in  their 
infancy,  had  in  this  affair  done  more  to  humble  the  Antichristian 
barbarians  on  that  coast,  than  all  the  European  states  had  done 
for  a  long  series  of  years." 

In  the  spring  of  1805,  the  American  fleet  having  meanwhile 
been  greatly  increased,  active  operations  were  again  begun,  with 
such  success  that  by  June  3  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  by 
which  the  Bashaw  relinquished  all  claim  to  future  tribute  and 
exchanged  the  American  prisoners  from  the  Philadelphia  for  the 
Tunisian  prisoners  held  by  our  forces,  and  the  long  war  honora_ 
bly  ended.  The  American  fleet  then  returned  home,  and  the 
Enterprise  was  laid  up  in  ordinary.  Congress  \  oted  a  gold  medal 
to  Commodore  Preble,  and  swords  to  the  officers  of  his  squadron. 


1 8  THE  "LUCKY  LITTLE  ENTERPRISE." 

In  1809  the  Enterprise  was  again  sent  out  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean under  Lieutenant  Trippe,  returning  home  in  1811. 

In  June,  1812,  war  was  declared  with  Great  Britain.  An 
effort  was  at  once  made  to  rehabilitate  our  Navy,  and  the  Enter- 
prise was  transformed  from  a  schooner  into  a  brig,  armed  with 
fourteen  eighteen-pounder  canonades,  and  two  long  nine-pounders, 
with  a  crew  of  one  hundred  men.  Master-Commandant  Thomas 
Blakely  was  put  in  command,  with  orders  to  look  out  for  English 
privateers  on  the  coast  of  Maine,  as  twelve  years  before  the  Enter- 
prise had  been  sent  to  the  West  Indies  after  French  freebooters. 

With  her  usual  good  luck  the  little  vessel  was  not  long  in 
finding  a  quarry,  and  in  August,  1813,  she  captured  the  privateer 
Fly.  Soon  after,  Lieutenant  William  Burrows,  a  very  gallant 
young  officer  who  had  served  with  Preble  in  the  Constitution 
during  the  Tripolitan  war,  was  ordered  to  command  the  Enterprise, 
and  on  September  i  he  sailed  from  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  in  quest 
of  several  privateers  that  had  been  reported  in  the  vicinity  of 
Monhegan,  Maine. 

On  September  4,  1813,  while  near  Pemequid  Point,  Maine, 
Burrows  sighted  a  brig  at  anchor  in  a  small  inlet,  which  he 
recognized  as  a  vessel  of  war.  He  at  once  cleared  ship  for 
action,  and  hoisted  the  stars  and  stripes  at  the  peak  and  at  each 
masthead.  The  British  brig  leisurely  got  under  way,  fired  several 
guns  and  stood  out  seaward,  with  her  colors  also  flying  from  each 
masthead. 

While  the  two  vessels  were  standing  out,  the  Enterprise 
leading,  Lieutenant  Burrows  directed  that  one  of  the  long  nines 
should  be  brought  aft  and  run  out  of  a  stern  port  in  the  poop 
cabin.  As  it  was  found  that  some  of  the  fixtures  interfered  with 
getting  a  proper  elevation  on  the  gun,  the  Captain  called  the 
•carpenter  with  his  broad-axe  to  cut  away  the  wood-work.  This 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  crew,  many  of  whom  had  been  in 
the  Enterprise  for  some  time,  and  they  got  the  idea  that  Burrows 
was  arranging  to  run  from  the  Englishman  and  use  the  stern 


THE    "  LUCKY    LITTLE    ENTERPRISE.  19 

chaser  in  defence.  It  was  not  until  the  first  lieutenant  relieved 
their  minds  on  this  point  by  the  promise  of  a  speedy  fight  with 
the  enemy,  that  entire  harmony  was  restored. 

At  3  P.  M.,  Burrows,  having  completed  his  preparations, 
shortened  sail,  tacked,  and  edged  away  toward  the  Boxer,  the 
two  vessels  approaching  on  different  tacks.  At  3.20  they  both 
kept  away,  and  as  they  ranged  alongside,  the  Enterprise  opened 
with  her  starboard  and  the  Boxer  with  her  port  guns.  The 
Enterprise  drew  ahead,  keeping  up  her  fire,  and  as  she  passed  the 
Boxer's  bow  the  helm  was  put  a-starboard  and  she  sheered  across 
the  Englishman's  fore-foot,  delivering  the  fire  of  the  long  nine, 
which  had  been  run  out  of  the  cabin  window,  twice  at  half  pistol 
shot  distance,  with  telling  effect. 

The  Boxer  then  kept  away  and  drew  up  on  the  quarter  of 
the  Enterprise,  both  vessels  exchanging  broadsides,  but  the 
American  brig,  keeping  ahead  of  her  antagonist,  again  sheered 
across  the  Boxer's  fore-foot,  and  raked  her  with  the  long  nine. 
At  this  time  the  Englishman's  maintopmast  came  down,  bringing 
with  it  the  topsail  yard,  and  the  Enterprise  holding  her  position 
continued  the  raking  fire. 

Very  early  in  the  action  Lieutenant  Burrows  had  been 
mortally  wounded  by  a  musket  ball,  but  the  brave  fellow  had 
refused  to  be  taken  below,  and  throughout  the  action  he  was 
stretched  on  deck  with  a  hammock  beneath  his  head.  As  he  fell 
he  cried  to  his  first  lieutenant,  "  Never  strike  that  flag !  " 

Lieutenant  Edward  McCall,  who  assumed  command,  had 
never  before  been  in  action,  but  he  proved  fully  equal  to  the 
occasion  and  fought  and  manoeuvred  the  vessel  with  great  skill. 
At  4  P.  M.  the  fire  of  the  enemy  ceased  and  a  voice  was  heard 
hailing,  "We  have  surrendered." 

"Why  don't  you  haul  down  your  colors?"  returned  McCall 
through  his  trumpet. 

"We  can't,  sir;  they  are  nailed  to  the  mast,"  was  the 
reply. 


20  THE  "LUCKY  LITTLE  ENTERPRISE." 

A  boat  was  lowered,  and  McCall,  boarding  the  Boxer,  found 
that  her  commander,  Captain  Samuel  Blyth,  had  been  killed  at 
the  first  broadside  from  the  Enterprise,  and  that  in  all  the 
English  had  twenty-eight  killed  and  fourteen  wounded,  while  the 
Enterprise  had  but  one  killed  and  thirteen  wounded,  three  of 
whom,  however,  died  the  next  day. 

Captain  Blyth,  who  was  a  very  gallant  officer,  equally  noted 
for  his  gentleness  and  humanity,  had  been  one  of  the  pall- 
bearers a  few  weeks  before  in  Halifax  at  the  funeral  of  Captain 
Lawrence  of  the  Chesapeake.  Stimulated  by  the  good  fortune  of 
Captain  Broke  of  the  Shannon,  Blyth  had  sailed  in  the  Boxer  in 
search  of  the  Enterprise,  expressing  his  determination  to  "  lead 
another  Yankee  into  Halifax  harbor." 

When  Lieutenant  McCall  returned  to  the  Enterprise,  he  at 
once  brought  Blyth's  sword  to  Burrows,  who  was  still  stretched 
out  on  deck  where  he  had  fallen.  As  the  young  commander 
grasped  the  sword  in  both  his  hands  and  pressed  it  to  his  breast 
he  murmured,  "  I  am  satisfied."  Soon  after  his  body  was  laid 
out  in  his  own  cabin,  covered  with  the  flag  for  which  he  had  given 
up  his  life,  "  a  smile  on  his  lips,"  as  one  of  his  officers  wrote  to 
his  wife. 

An  extract  from  a  letter  from  Commodore  Hull  to  Commo- 
dore Bainbridge,  dated  September  10,  1813,  is  of  special  interest 
as  giving  the  testimony  of  an  intelligent  personal  witness.  Hull 
says :  "  I  yesterday  visited  the  two  brigs,  and  was  astonished  to 
see  the  difference  of  injury  received  in  the  action.  The  Enterprise 
has  but  one  eighteen-pound  shot  in  her  hull,  one  in  her  mainmast, 
and  one  in  her  foremast ;  her  sails  are  much  cut  by  grape  shot, 
but  no  injury  was  done  by  them. 

"  The  Boxer  has  eighteen  or  twenty  eighteen-pound  shot  in 
tier  hull,  most  of  them  at  the  water's  edge ;  several  stands  of 
grape  shot  in  her  side,  and  such  a  quantity  of  smaller  grape  that 
I  didn't  undertake  to  count  them.  Her  masts,  sails  and  spars 
are  literally  cut  to  pieces ;  several  v  her  guns  are  dismounted 


THE  "LUCKY  LITTLE  ENTERPRISE."  21 

and  unfit  for  service.  To  give  an  idea,  I  inform  you  that  I 
counted  in  her  mainmast  alone  three  eighteen-pound  shot  holes. 

"  I  find  it  impossible  to  get  at  the  number  killed,  as  no 
papers  are  found  by  which  we  can  ascertain  it.  I,  however, 
counted  upwards  of  ninety  hammocks  that  were  in  her  nettings, 
besides  several  beds  without  hammocks.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
she  carried  one  hundred  men  on  board." 

The  exact  number  on  board  the  Enterprise  was  one  hundred 
and  two. 

On  September  7,  after  the  arrival  of  the  Enterprise  at  Port- 
land with  her  prize,  the  bodies  of  the  two  commanders  were 
brought  on  shore  in  ten-oared  barges,  rowed  at  minute  strokes  by 
masters  of  ships,  and  accompanied  by  a  procession  of  almost  all 
the  barges  and  boats  in  the  harbor.  Minute  guns  were  fired 
from  the  vessels,  the  same  military  ceremony  was  performed  over 
each  body,  and  the  procession  moved  through  the  streets,  pre- 
ceded by  the  selectmen  and  municipal  officers,  and  guarded  by 
the  officers  and  crew  of  the  Enterprise  and  Boxer.  Burrows  and 
Blyth  were  buried  side  by  side  in  the  Portland  cemetery,  where 
their  tombs  may  still  be  seen. 

Lieutenant  James  Renshaw  was  now  ordered  to  command 
the  Enterprise,  and  during  the  winter  of  1813-14  she  made  an 
extended  cruise  to  the  southward  in  company  with  the  Rattlesnake. 
While  off  the  Florida  coast,  the  Enterprise  captured  the  privateer 
brig  Mars,  armed  with  fourteen  long  nines  and  carrying  seventy- 
five  men.  April  25  she  was  sighted  by  an  English  frigate  that 
chased  her  for  seventy  hours,  frequently  getting  within  gunshot. 
On  April  27  it  fell  calm,  whereupon  Lieutenant  Renshaw  got  out 
his  boats  and  towed  the  schooner  until,  a  breeze  springing  up,  he 
was  enabled  to  escape  from  his  pursuer.  During  this  chase, 
Lieutenant  Renshaw  threw  overboard  all  but  two  of  his  guns, 
reserving  these  to  repel  possible  boat  attacks. 

On  returning  to  the  United  States  at  the  end  of  this  cruise, 
the  Enterprise  was  sent  to  Charleston,  S.  C.,  to  act  as  a  coast 


22  THE    "  LUCKY    LITTLE    ENTERPRISE. 

guard  vessel,  in  which  service  she  was  employed  until  the  close  of 
the  war. 

During  the  years  1816-19  the  Enterprise,  under  command  of 
Lieutenant  Laurence  Kearney,  was  again  attached  to  the  Medi- 
terranean squadron,  and  in  1821  she  was  sent  to  the  West  Indies 
to  aid  in  breaking  up  the  pirates  who  were  infesting  the  Caribbean 
Sea.  Among  these  Lafitte,  who  had  distinguished  himself  at  the 
battle  of  New  Orleans  and  received  a  pardon  in  consideration  of 
his  gallant  services  against  the  British,  had  fitted  out  a  large  brig- 
antine,  the  Pride,  armed  with  sixteen  guns  and  carrying  one  hun- 
dred and  sixteen  men,  and  returned  to  his  old  career  in  those 
waters. 

Lieutenant  Kearney  found  Lafitte  with  the  Enterprise,  and 
agreeably  to  the  desire  of  our  government  arranged  with  him  to 
shift  his  cruising  ground  from  the  West  Indies  to  the  southern 
coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  idea  seeming  to  be  to  relieve  our 
commerce  at  the  expense  of  our  neighbors. 

In  October,  1821,  the  Enterprise  encountered  the  noted  pirate 
Gibbs  with  his  fleet  of  piratical  vessels  while  they  were  in  the  act 
of  robbing  the  American  ship  Lucies,  brig  Anstides,  and  the  English 
brig  Larch.  Lieutenant  Kearney  burned  two  of  the  pirate  vessels, 
drove  Gibbs'  schooner  on  shore  and  finally  burned  her,  and 
brought  several  of  the  pirate  schooners  to  Charleston,  S.  C., 
where  they  were  condemned. 

In  1823,  after  her  long  and  fortunate  career,  the  Enterprise 
was  wrecked  on  the  Little  Curacoa,  but  all  hands  were  saved. 

To  sum  up  the  service  of  this  little  vessel,  we  find  that  the 
Enterprise  took  more  French  privateers  than  any  vessel  in  the 
West  Indies,  while  her  action  with  the  Flambeau  was  one  of  the 
warmest  of  the  kind  on  record.  In  the  Tripolitan  war  she 
captured  the  Tripoli,  a  cruiser  of  equal  size,  in  a  very  desperate 
engagement.  She  captured  the  Mastico,  and  with  that  vessel,  the 
Commander  of  the  Enterprise  with  several  of  his  officers  and  men, 
aided  by  a  detail  from  the  Constitution,  destroyed  the  Philadelphia. 


THE    "LUCKY    LITTLE    ENTERPRISE."  23. 

She  took  the  English  brig  Boxer  after  a  sharp  engagement.  She 
escaped  from  several  English  frigates  by  her  superior  speed,  and 
of  the  five  small  vessels  in  the  Mediterranean  squadron,  the  Enter- 
prise, Vixen,  Siren,  Nautilus,  and  Argus,  the  Enterprise  alone 
escaped  capture  by  the  enemy.  Finally  she  rounded  out  her 
career  by  honorable  and  successful  work  against  the  pirates  in 
the  West  Indies. 

After  such  an  adventurous  and  singularly  fortunate  career, 
it  is  not  strange  that  she  earned  the  name  in  the  Navy  of  the 
" Lucky  Little  Enterprise" 

The  third  Enterprise  in  our  naval  service  was  a  schooner  of 
one  hundred  and  ninety-four  tons,  mounting  ten  guns.  She  was 
purchased  in  New  York,  in  1831,  for  $27,935  and  was  sold  in 
Boston  in  1845.  During  her  career  she  cruised  on  the  Brazil 
station  under  command  of  Lieutenant  S.  W.  Downing,  1832-33. 
She  was  in  the  East  Indies,  1834-37,  under  Lieutenants  A.  S. 
Campbell  and  George  Hollins.  Cruised  in  the  Pacific,  1838-39, 
under  Lieutenants  William  M.  Glendy  and  H.  Ingersoll ;  on  the 
Brazil  station,  1839-42,  under  Lieutenants  F.  Ellery,  Percival 
Drayton  and  Commander  Louis  M.  Goldsborough,  and  in  1843- 
44  she  was  commanded  by  Lieutenants  J.  P.  Wilson  and  J.  M. 
Watson. 

These  were  the  piping  times  of  peace,  and  the  third  Enter- 
prise had  no  opportunity  of  making  a  war  record.  But  it  will  be 
noted  by  the  names  recorded  above  that,  like  her  immediate  pre- 
decessor, this  little  vessel  had  also  among  her  various  commanders 
some  officers  who  were  later  highly  distinguished  in  our  naval 
annals. 

The  present  steam  sloop-of-war  Enterprise,  the  fourth  of  her 
name  in  our  service,  was  built,  1873-76,  at  Kittery,  Me.,  by  John 
W.  Griffith  and  the  United  States  government.  She  is  bark- 
rigged ;  length,  185  feet;  beam,  35  feet;  mean  draft,  14  feet  3 
inches;  displacement,  1,375  tons.  Her  armament  when  she  was 
first  commissioned  was:  one  i5o-pounder  rifle  pivot;  one  60- 


24  THE    "LUCKY   LITTLE    ENTERPRISE." 

pounder  rifle  on  top-gallant  forecastle;  four  g-inch  Dahlgren 
smooth-bore  guns  ;  one  3-inch  B.  L.  rifle ;  one  Catling  gun  ;  and 
two  howitzers  for  boats  and  saluting  purposes. 

She  carried  195  officers,  seamen  and  marines,  and  proved 
herself  one  of  the  fastest  and  most  efficient  vessels  on  the  North 
Atlantic  Station,  having  a  speed  under  steam  of  about  twelve 
knots  an  hour. 

In  1879-80  the  Enterprise,  under  the  command  of  Com- 
mander Thomas  O.  Selfridge,  U.  S.  N.,  surveyed  the  Amazon 
River  a  distance  of  several  hundred  miles  from  its  mouth.  Upon 
the  completion  of  this  work  the  ship  was  sent  across  the  Atlantic 
to  reinforce  the  European  squadron.  Upon  her  return  from 
that  cruise  she  was  refitted  and  sent  out  again  to  the  European 
squadron,  1880-82,  under  the  command  of  Commander  Bow- 
man H.  McCalla,  U.  S.  N. 

On  January  2d,  1883,  the  Enterprise  sailed  from  Norfolk, 
Va.,  under  command  of  Commander  A.  S.  Barker,  U.  S.  N.,  to 
join  the  Asiatic  squadron.  The  route  selected  by  the  Navy 
Department  for  the  ship  was  via  the  Cape  de  Verde  Islands  and 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  From  the  Cape,  Commander  Barker  was 
instructed  to  cruise  along  the  coast  of  South  Africa,  thence  to 
Madagascar,  the  Comoro  Islands  and  Zanzibar.  From  Zanzibar 
the  Enterprise  was  directed  to  cross  the  Indian  Ocean  by  the  way 
of  the  Straits  of  Sunda  and  proceed  to  China,  touching  en  route  at 
Borneo. 

The  Navy  Department  directed,  for  the  purpose  of  adding 
to  the  existing  knowledge  of  the  ocean's  bed,  that  deep-sea  sound- 
ings should  be  taken  on  this  cruise  at  intervals  of  one  hundred 
miles.  For  that  purpose  the  Sigsbee  Improved  and  Sir  William 
Thompson's  deep-sea  sounding  apparatuses  were  put  on  board, 
provided  with  Belknap's  specimen  cups  and  other  modern  appa- 
ratus. 

During  this  cruise  around  the  world  the  Enterprise  made 
several  important  discoveries  and  added  materially  to  our  previous 


THE   "LUCKY    LITTLE    ENTERPRISE.  25 

hydrographic  knowledge  of  the  contour  of  the  bottoms  of  the 
North  and  South  Atlantic  Oceans.  Among  these  discoveries 
were  two  submarine  peaks  in  the  South  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  an 
extensive  sand-bank  several  hundred  miles  from  the  coast  of 
South  America.  Commander  Barker  also  found  the  deepest 
depression  that  had  been  discovered  up  to  that  time,  but  one,  in 
the  North  Atlantic,  when,  in  sounding  to  the  northward  of  the 
Virgin  Islands  and  Porto  Rico,  a  specimen  was  brought  up  from 
the  bottom  from  a  depth  of  4529  fathoms,  or  5^3  miles.  The 
Blake,  under  Commander  Brownson,  had  previously  obtained 
4561  fathoms  within  40  miles  of  this  spot. 

During  this  cruise  of  thirty-eight  months  the  Enterprise  also 
visited  all  the  Chinese  treaty  ports,  and  was  present  at  the  bom- 
bardment by  the  French  of  Foo  Choo  arsenal,  Pagoda  Anchorage, 
witnessing  the  destruction  of  the  Chinese  fleet  and  the  passing 
of  the  forts  in  the  Min  River  by  the  French  squadron  under 
Vice-Admiral  Courbet.  This  engagement  was  exceedingly  dra- 
matic in  its  incidents,  it  being  the  first  time  that  the  modern 
quick-firing  guns  had  been  used  in  battle.  The  effect  of  these 
guns  when  fired  from  the  tops  of  the  French  fleet  was  terrific, 
making  perfect  charnel  houses  of  the  unprotected  decks  of  the 
Chinese  ships. 

In  1891  the  Enterprise  was  sent  to  the  Naval  Academy  at 
Annapolis  for  the  use  of  that  institution,  and  in  1892  she  was 
assigned  by  the  United  States  government  to  the  use  of  the 
Massachusetts  Nautical  Training  School,  where  she  is  now  used 
as  a  school-ship  for  the  purpose  of  instructing  about  one  hundred 
young  men  (residents  of  this  Commonwealth)  in  the  theory  and 
practice  of  seamanship  and  steam  and  electrical  engineering. 
The  Navy  Department  detail  for  this  school  four  naval  officers. 
These  are,  at  this  time,  Commanding  Officer  and  Superintendent, 
Commander  Frederick  M.  Wise;  Executive  Officer,  Lieutenant 
Robert  E.  Coontz;  Navigating  Officer,  Lieutenant  L.  C.  Berto- 
lette ;  Watch  Officer,  Lieutenant  G.  G.  Mitchell.  These  officers 


26  THE   "LUCKY   LITTLE   ENTERPRISE." 

are  also  instructors,  as  well  as  the  civilians  who  are  engaged  as- 
engineer,  surgeon,  English  instructor,  etc. 

The  Enterprise  remains  at  Boston  during  the  winter  months, 
which  are  devoted  to  the  instruction  of  the  cadets  in  the  theory  of 
navigation  and  steam  and  electrical  engineering  and  in  other 
branches  of  study.  During  the  summer  months  the  ship  is  sent 
to  sea,  to  afford  an  opportunity  for  practical  work  for  the  cadets 
in  the  various  branches  of  their  profession. 

The  Nautical  Training  School  is  managed  by  a  State  Board 
of  three  Commissioners  who  are,  at  present,  Rear-Admiral  George 
E.  Belknap,  U.  S.  N.  (retired),  Chairman,  Robert  B.  Dixon,  M.  D., 
and  Hon.  John  Read.  These  Commissioners  formulate  all  rules, 
regulations  and  courses  of  study  for  the  school  and  administer 
the  annual  appropriation  made  by  the  Legislature  of  the  Com- 
monwealth for  its  maintenance.  During  the  six  years  it  has  been 
in  operation  the  school  has  been  exceedingly  successful  and 
nearly  one  hundred  of  its  graduates  have  already  obtained 
responsible  positions  in  the  mercantile  marine,  while  about 
seventy  of  the  cadets  were  engaged  during  the  late  Spanish  war 
in  the  United  States  service  and  made  an  excellent  record  in 
their  various  lines  of  duty. 

There  is  a  steadily  increasing  demand  for  the  carefully 
trained  graduates  of  this  institution  as  junior  engineers  and 
officers  in  the  mercantile  marine,  and  as  a  natural  result  the 
number  of  applicants  for  admission  to  the  school  is  fully  up  to 
its  capacity.  And  so,  in  this  year  1900,  the  modern  Enterprise 
is  perhaps  doing,  in  a  quiet  manner,  as  worthy  service  to  the 
State  as  was  accomplished  in  a  very  different  way  long  years  ago 
by  her  warlike  predecessor,  " the  Lucky  Little  Enterprise" 


OPINIONS    OF     SOME     WELL-KNOWN     NAVAL 

OFFICERS    AND    OTHER    GENTLEMEN, 

WITH    EXTRACTS    FROM 

PRESS    NOTICES. 


Following  are  brief  extracts  from  a  large  number  of 
letters  received:  — 

The  late  Governor  Roger  Wolcott  said: 

"  I  have  been  spending  a  part  of  the  afternoon  in  reading  '  The  Story  of  the 
Lucky  Little  Enterprise.'  What  a  splendid  record  of  American  courage  and 
valor !  I  beg  that  you  will  accept  my  cordial  thanks  for  this  admirably  told  story 
of  the  sea.  I  shall  value  it  highly." 

Admiral  George  Dewey,  U.  S.  N.,  says : 

"  Please  accept  my  thanks  for  the  little  book,  which  I  have  read  with  much 
pleasure,  recalling  as  it  does  one  of  the  most  gallant  sea  fights  in  the  annals  of 
our  history.  May  the  present '  Enterprise '  be  as  lucky  as  her  predecessor." 

The  Hon.  John  D.  Long,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  says: 

"  I  value  your  little  book  and  appreciate  your  sending  it.  The  '  Enterprise ' 
was  one  of  the  ships  of  the  early  American  Navy  which  particularly  distinguished 
itself ;  its  battle  with  the  '  Boxer '  is  especially  memorable.  I  remember  looking 
at  the  graves  in  Portland,  Me.,  where  Captain  Burrows  and  Captain  Blythe  lie." 

Senator  Henry  Cabot  Lodge  says: 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  have  your  monograph  on  the '  Enterprise.'  One  of  the  finest 
events  in  the  war  of  1812  was  her  fight  with  the '  Boxer.' " 

Professor  E.  K.  Rawson,  Superintendent  Naval  War  Records,  says: 

"  It  would  be  very  desirable  if  the  same  sort  of  work  as  '  The  Story  of  the  Lucky 
Little  Enterprise  and  Her  Successors  in  the  United  States  Navy,  1776-1900,'  could 
be  done  for  some  of  the  other  historic  ships  in  the  service." 


The  Rt.  Rev.  Leighton  Coleman,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Bishop  of  Delaware,  says  : 

"  You  did  well  to  commemorate  that  most  lucky  vessel,  the  '  Enterprise,'  and 
the  story,  as  you  tell  it,  is  most  interesting,  and  aids  in  doing  justice  to  the  valor 
and  skill  of  our  countrymen  in  a  very  eventful  period  of  our  history." 

Rear  Admiral  S.  B.  Luce,  U.  S.  N.,  says : 

"  Yon  have  done  a  good  piece  of  work,  and  I  trust  the  book  will  be  used  as  a 
text-book  on  board  the  ship  whose  services  and  those  of  her  forefathers— or 
foremothers  (for  a  ship  is  of  the  feminine  gender)— it  commemorates.  I  hope 
the  time  will  come  when  a  little  more  attention  will  be  paid  to  teaching  our  naval 
apprentices  something  of  the  history  of  the  Navy.  May  your  little  book  be  the 
beginning." 

Rear  Admiral  George  E.  Belknap,  U.  S.  N.,  says : 

"  You  have  made  an  exceedingly  interesting  story  of  '  The  Lucky  Little  Enter- 
prise.' There  is  not  a  dull  line  in  the  book.  Rich  in  incident,  gathered  from 
many  sources,  happily  grouped  and  woven  together  in  graceful  and  graphic  nar- 
rative, the  reader's  interest  is  at  once  attracted  and  continued  with  unabated  en- 
joyment to  the  end  of  the  story.  Like  the  old  '  Constitution,'  the  '  Enterprise ' 
was  always  a  lucky  ship  and  the  story  of  her  career  possesses  similar  interest." 

Rear  Admiral  James  A.  Greer,  U.  S.  N.,  says : 

"  If  we  could  have  a  detailed  account  of  many  of  our  vessels,  with  personal  and 
other  incidents  included,  it  would  be  most  interesting.  I  have  read  '  The  Story  of 
the  Lucky  Little  Enterprise '  with  great  pleasure." 

Rear  Admiral  Albert  S.  Barker,  U.  S.  N.  (formerly  in  command  of  the 
"Enterprise"),  says: 

"  I  always  felt  when  I  was  in  command  of  the '  Enterprise '  that  she  was  a  lucky 
ship  and  frequently  spoke  of  it  to  the  officers.  I  am  very  glad  you  have  put  so 
much  information  in  such  an  attractive  shape." 

Commander  Franklin  Hanford,  U.  S.  N.,  says : 

"  I  have  read  your  most  interesting  little  book  giving  the  history  of  the '  Enter- 
prise,' and  write  to  thank  you  for  it.  There  are  several  other  vessels  in  the  Navy 
whose  history  I  wish  might  also  be  written  up  as  you  have  done  for  the  '  Enter- 
prise.' " 

Commander  J.  Giles  Eaton,  U.  S.  N.  (formerly  in  command  of  the 
"Enterprise"),  says: 

"  I  have  read  with  great  pleasure  your  '  Lucky  Little  Enterprise,'  and  only 
regret  that  it  is  not  longer.  It  is  excellently  done  and  very  welcome  to  all  who 
have  had  to  do  with  the  staunch  old  seaboat." 


The  New  York  Nation  says: 

"  Mr.  Hill  closes  his  very  interesting  memoir  with  the  just  reflection  that  the 
modern '  Enterprise '  is  doing  as  worthy  service  to  the  state  as  did  the  vanquisher 
of  the '  Boxer.' " 

The  New  York  Nautical  Gazette  says: 

"  The  history  of  this  famous  ship  is  presented  in  a  manner  altogether  com- 
mendable and  we  wish  that  more  of  our  naval  craft  could  have  as  enthusiastic  a 
chronicler.  As  an  individual  history  of  a  notable  vessel  this  would  be  hard  to 
excel." 

The  Boston  Journal  says: 

"  What  the  '  Constitution '  was  among  frigates  and  the  '  Hornet '  among  the 
sloops-of-war  of  the  young  navy  of  the  Republic,  the  little  '  Enterprise,'  some- 
time schooner,  sometime  brig,  was  among  the  smaller  craft.  Captain  F.  Stan- 
hope Hill  tells  her  eventful  history  very  entertainingly,  and  it  is  probable  that 
she  was  the  most  successful  warship  of  her  tonnage  ever  built." 

The  Boston  Times  says: 

"  We  must  present  our  compliments  to  Mr.  Hill  for  his  very  interesting  and 
patriotic  account  of  the  exploits  of  the  '  Lucky  Little  Enterprise,'  now  used  as 
a  training  ship  by  the  Massachusetts  Nautical  Training  School." 

Hon.  Frank  A.  Hill,  Secretary  of  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education,  says: 

"  A  capital  story  of  splendid  courage,  written  by  one  who  knows  whereof  he 
writes  and  how  to  tell  what  he  knows." 


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